Brands ‘face demise’ due to lack of mature Irish whiskey

Smaller, independent Irish whiskey brands “face demise” due to a lack of supply of mature whiskey if a wholesale market for bulk Irish whiskey is not established, a new report suggests.

A new report is urging the Irish government to support the establishment of a bulk Irish whiskey market

The report compiled by Compecon for The Wild Geese Irish Whiskey brand found several “significant barriers” when it comes to entering the Irish whiskey category, “inhibiting the growth of the industry as a whole”.

The research analysed Irish whiskey’s performance and its potential to contribute to the growth of the Irish economy, compared to the Scotch whisky industry.

As such, The Wild Geese Irish Whiskey firm argues the government has a “fundamental role” in supporting the sector by establishing a “commercially viable” wholesale market for bulk Irish whiskey that would encourage new export-oriented Irish whiskey firms to drive overall Irish economic growth.

“This report describes the challenges that we as an independent Irish whiskey brand face day-to-day,” commented Andre Levy, chairman and co-founder of The Wild Geese Irish Whiskey. “Issues such as the high cost of market entry, the presence of larger established market players controlling supply and the difficulty in accessing a long-term and competitive mature whiskey supply.

“These factors are prohibitive to new market entrants and threaten the existing brands looking to survive, grow sustainably and share in the category they played a part in growing.

“We are committed to providing our customers with the very best quality product and representing the Irish whiskey industry internationally and we are asking the Irish government to support our call for the immediate establishment of a commercially viable wholesale market for bulk Irish whiskey.

“The case for such a market has been made by the Irish Whiskey Association and we believe the government has a fundamental role to play in supporting the SME sector as we work to grow the economy at home and abroad.”

The report highlights that the Irish whiskey market is “dwarfed” by that in Scotland, and argues the Scotch whisky industry has benefited from a “proper functioning wholesale market”, which has been “crucial” to the success of early stage businesses and the industry as a whole.

Furthermore, the research claims to support the Irish Whiskey Association’s “Vision for Irish Whiskey” report, which argues it should be possible to enter the market without having to build a distillery as it would be beneficial to both producers and the economy.